Gyula (Yula, Gula, Gila) was, according to Muslim and Byzantine sources, the title of one of the leaders, the second in rank, of the Hungarian tribal federation in the 9th–10th centuries. In the earliest Hungarian sources, the title name is only recorded as a personal name (Gyyla, Geula, Gyla, Iula).
According to the Hungarian chronicles, Transylvania was ruled by a line of princes called Gyula, and their country was occupied by King Stephen I of Hungary (1000/1001–1038).
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Árpád (Hungarian pronunciation: [ˈaːrpaːd]; c. 845 – c. 907) was the head of the confederation of the Magyar tribes at the turn of the 9th and 10th centuries. He might have been either the sacred ruler or kende of the Hungarians, or their military leader or gyula, although most details of his life are debated by historians, because different sources contain contradictory information. Despite this, many Hungarians refer to him as the "founder of our country", and Árpád's preeminent role in the Hungarian conquest of the Carpathian Basin has been emphasized by some later chronicles. The dynasty descending from Árpád ruled the Kingdom of Hungary until 1301.
Álmos (Hungarian: [ˈaːlmoʃ]), also Almos or Almus (c. 820 – c. 895), was—according to the uniform account of Hungarian chronicles—the first head of the "loose federation" of the Hungarian tribes from around 850. Whether he was the sacred ruler (kende) of the Hungarians or their military leader (gyula) is subject to scholarly debate. According to Constantine Porphyrogenitus, he accepted the Khazar khagan's suzerainty in the first decade of his reign, but the Hungarians acted independently of the Khazars from around 860. The 14th-century Illuminated Chronicle narrates that he was murdered in Transylvania at the beginning of the Hungarian conquest of the Carpathian Basin around 895.
Stephen I, also known as King Saint Stephen (Hungarian: Szent István király [ˌsɛnt ˈiʃtvaːn kiraːj]; Latin: Sanctus Stephanus; Slovak: Štefan I. or Štefan Veľký; c. 975 – 15 August 1038), was the last grand prince of the Hungarians between 997 and 1000 or 1001, and the first king of Hungary from 1000 or 1001 until his death in 1038. The year of his birth is uncertain, but many details of his life suggest that he was born in, or after, 975, in Esztergom. He was given the pagan name Vajk at birth, but the date of his baptism is unknown. He was the only son of Grand Prince Géza and his wife, Sarolt, who was descended from a prominent family of gyulas. Although both of his parents were baptized, Stephen was the first member of his family to become a devout Christian. He married Gisela of Bavaria, a scion of the imperial Ottonian dynasty.
After succeeding his father in 997, Stephen had to fight for the throne against his relative, Koppány, who was supported by large numbers of pagan warriors. He defeated Koppány with the assistance of foreign knights including Vecelin, Hont and Pázmány, and native lords. He was crowned on 25 December 1000 or 1 January 1001 with a crown sent by Pope Sylvester II. In a series of wars against semi-independent tribes and chieftains—including the Black Hungarians and his uncle, Gyula the Younger—he unified the Carpathian Basin. He protected the independence of his kingdom by forcing the invading troops of Conrad II, Holy Roman Emperor, to withdraw from Hungary in 1030.
Horka, or harka, was a title used by the Magyar tribes in the 9th and 10th centuries. According to Byzantine Emperor Constantine Porphyrogenetos in De administrando imperio, the horka had judicial authority. However, in other sources, the term was applied to a military leader (such as Bulcsú, who led the Magyar forces at the Battle of Lechfeld). Certainly at some point in the 10th century, the roles of horka and gyula (the chief warlord) had become similar, with the horka having authority in Western Transdanubia and the gyula in Transylvania in the east. In later sources the word appears, only as a personal name.
The title is somewhat similar to the word harki, which is used to describe soldier in Arabic.
The kende (or kündü) was one of the kings of the dual-monarchy of the early Hungarians along with the gyula or war-chief. The function of the kende is believed to have been a religious one ("sacral prince"). At the time of the Magyar migration to Pannonia, the kende was named Kurszán. Upon Kurszán's death in a raid in approximately 904 CE, the office was taken up by the gyula Árpád, creating a single-head monarchy for Hungary. Though there are some scholars (for example Gyula Kristó) who believe that Árpád was the kende, who later took up the functions of the gyula.
Some scholars have speculated that the early Magyar dual kingship derived from their time as vassals of the Khazars. Indeed, the Khazars were described by Ahmad ibn Fadlan as having an officer titled Kündür which may have been either identical to, a model for, or the forerunner of the office of kende.
Gyula III, also Iula or Gyula the Younger, Geula or Gyla, was an early medieval ruler in Transylvania (c. 980 – 1003/1004). Around 1003, he and his family were attacked, dispossessed and captured by King Stephen I of Hungary (1000/1001-1038). The name "Gyula" was also a title, the second highest rank in Hungarian tribal confederation.
According to Gyula Kristó, his actual name was probably Prokui. However, certain historians like István Bóna disagree with this identification.